Shadow Wolf
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Kiba takes back his younger brother, a young pup named Harry Potter. Haru must learn to control his new powers before the hunters realize that Harry Potter is a wolf! How will Harry survive Hogwarts while keeping his secret?
1. Chapter 1

Kiba was on the prowl. years ago his younger pack brother, Haru was taken from him. He had thought the Potter family would take care of him like they were supposed to until he was old enough.

Instead some bug eyed woman ruins everything with a 'prophecy' and the people he chose to protect his brother were dead.

His only consolation was that the one called Moony knew where his brother was at all times. Moony had been friends with the Potters, and their treatment of one who was cursed had been the deciding factor in his brother's placement.

Kiba wasn't too far from where his brother was. Moony had been very helpful giving him that blanket with Haru's scent.

* * *

It was night, and his eyes alighted to a house. There was an odd bubble around it, but it appeared very weak. He approached cautiously. It wouldn't do for his little brother to be frightened of him before he was recognized.

Someone was opening a door at the house. A small child came out with a threadbare blanket and he could hear the voice of a human.

"_You'll stay outside if you know what's good for you, you little freak! You should be grateful we took you in!"_

Kiba growled. Pups were to be watched and cared for, not thrown out in the cold with barely any protection. Then he finally realized who the child was.

_HARU!_

The human went back inside, slamming the thin door. He growled. How dare that human treat his pack brother that way! He stalked closer to the house.

The child froze when he saw him. But he was more curious than afraid. The child blinked, and held out his hand towards him.

Kiba went past the bubble, and felt something snap into place behind him.

The child gently touched his muzzle, and Kiba knew his brother was good with animals.

Too bad cats would forever hate him for what he was.

His emerald green eyes widened, and he bent down slightly to come eye level with Kiba.

_I have come for you, little brother._

Haru's eyes widened with shock, but he didn't run. Suddenly the door banged open, and there stood the largest human he had ever seen. It was not happy in the least.

Kiba recognized the long metal shape for what it was immediately. He shifted into his human form and growled.

"Back off human."

"Take the little freak! We never wanted him anyway!" screeched a woman behind the large male. It looked reminiscent of a horse, only uglier.

"I planned to."

Harry was quick on the uptake, because he figured out a few things.

One, this wolf-turned-man was related to him.

Two, he planned to take him away from the Dursleys, who frankly he never felt any connection with.

And three, he was safe.

But who was this wolf-man? Why did he feel so familiar?

Harry grabbed what little he could claim as his own, and left with the stranger.

"Are you alright, Haru?"

"Haru?"

"I forgot...Lily and James changed your name when they blood adopted you. Your birth name is Haru."

"What is your name?" asked Haru.

"You probably wouldn't remember me. It's been so long since I saw you last."

Haru sat on the park bench, and listened to the wind. Dudley had laughed at him, when he told his fat cousin what he was doing. Dudley said people didn't listen to wind and rain.

His uncle had beat him severely when Dudley mentioned it a supper.

As the wind whistled through the trees, Haru felt his mind let go.

A memory of long ago came to him in a flash. It was back when his parents were still alive. That alone made it something he cherished.

* * *

"_Run to daddy Prongslet!"_

Haru could see a man with messy black hair and hazel eyes. The eyes of a prankster.

"_Now James, I highly doubt his animal form is a stag like yours," said a man with tawny hair._

"_Kiba said he didn't mind us calling him that. Anyway, I doubt he would care so long as he's ours," said James._

"_So how does it feel to be a dad, Prongs?" asked a man with black hair and sapphire eyes._

"_How does it feel to be a godfather Padfoot?" countered James with a grin. Clearly the man didn't care if the child wasn't his by blood. _

_He loved Haru without condition. A woman with fire red hair and green eyes like his own approached with a man who smelled of fumes and fire._

"_Staying for dinner Inari?"_

"_I'm afraid not Lily. _Dumbledore_ (the man spat out the name like a curse) wants me to spy on another meeting."_

_A silvery white wolf approached. _

"_Is that Kiba's patronus?" asked Padfoot._

"_Hello Kiba. Care to join us for dinner?"_

* * *

"Kiba."

The man looked at him with surprise.

"You remember me?"

"A little. You were coming for dinner with a man named Padfoot and a tawny haired one."

"The tawny haired man is Moony."

"Moony? Padfoot? Prongs? Inari?"

"Moony, Padfoot and Prongs used to call themselves the Marauders. Inari was Lily's name for her childhood friend, because he could turn into a fox."

"What about you?"

"My name is Kiba. I'm your big brother."

After dropping that bombshell Haru didn't know what to say. He had always dreamed of having an older brother who would protect him, but he never believed it would actually come true.

Kiba found them a secluded spot in a forest outside Surrey. It was warm, clean, and dry. The rain had begun falling when they entered the forest, and Haru had gotten drenched.

Kiba shifted into his true form, a silvery white wold with golden eyes.

"How do you do that?"

_You really don't remember anything do you?_

Haru shook his head. All his life he had been told he was freak, and that he shouldn't ask questions.

Kiba sighed, and looked at him.

_First, let go of your doubts. You are a wolf, not a human. The form you wear now is only a disguise to protect you._

Haru nodded. He always felt off whenever he looked in a mirror. And on days when the moon was full, he would see a dark wolf staring back at him.

_Feel your true form take over. Your hands will feel heavy, and you will have all fours to the ground. Your eyes will lose the ability to see color, but your nose will make up for it by catching scents you have never had before._

Haru calmed himself, and felt his body grow heavy. His eyes began to grow dim, but he wasn't afraid. Somehow this felt good, right even.

His nose grew longer, his hair began to go all over the place. He felt bones shifting. Something popped into place behind him, and his hand and feet began to shrink somewhat.

Something inside him clicked, and he felt whole again. Like a piece he had lost a long time ago was back.

He blinked. Was he shorter now? He turned his head to look behind him, and realized he had a tail. A long tail that reached halfway to his feet.

_I knew you would take to it. You're my brother after all._

Haru sniffed around, so he could get used to being in his true form. He caught the scent of fur nearby, and it wasn't a wolf.

He jumped, and his teeth sank into the body of a large rabbit that had hidden itself. Kiba chuckled, and watched as his brother remembered what he truly was.

Haru laid next to him once he finished. The pup had left very few traces of the rabbit left.

_If I had known you were that hungry I would have gotten a deer._

Haru looked at his brother, and curled up closer.

_They didn't want me around. Someone had left me on their doorstep and forced them to take me in. _

Kiba growled, but there was no real malice towards his brother.

_Why did you leave me?_

_We are being hunted. There are so few true wolves left in the world, because people either fear us, worship us, or just hate us. It was the only way to keep you safe._

_I'm glad you're back, pack brother._

Kiba licked Haru gently, and was happy that his brother didn't hate him for being forced to leave him behind.

Haru woke up to find Kiba still there. So it hadn't been a dream. Kiba opened a weary eye at him.

_Isn't it early to be up?_

Haru gave him a wolfish grin.

_I used to get up earlier. Besides it's only six._

_...I hate mornings._

Kiba got up and stretched. Since he smelled humans nearby, he switched back.

_How do you switch back and forth?_

Kiba grinned.

"What did you look like as a human?"

Haru sat and thought.

Small, but fast. Messy black hair that refused to answer to a comb and emerald green eyes that sparkled in the light.

As he visualized what he looked like, he looked at his brother. Any doubt he had that Kiba wasn't his brother had disappeared last night. Kiba felt like home in a way that Petunia and Dudley _never_ had.

So he decided to do something about it. He visualized himself with slightly longer hair and a sharper nose.

Kiba was a bit surprised at the change, but he didn't disapprove of it.

* * *

When they reached a supermarket nearby, Kiba checked the date.

_July 30_

He grimaced. In two days the owls would start to arrive for his brother. There was no way he was going to let the silver old goat take him away twice. Then an idea hit him.

Inari was a potion maker, which meant he would be able to help Kiba fool the old man. The only issue was how to get to him in time.

"Haru, how would you like to see your uncles?"

Haru grinned at him, and that was all he needed to know.

Kiba had stolen more than his fair share of wallets along the way to his brother, so he was able to pay for a sizable breakfast for them both.

Unlike humans, wolves preferred a lot of protein for breakfast.

So Haru and Kiba ate enough eggs, sausage, bacon and steak to keep them well feed for at least three days. The waitress had been a bit surprised at the amount of food they ate, but Kiba gave her a big enough tip that she didn't comment.

"Alright Haru, we'll make better time if we go wolf. It's a long way to Inari's little tower, and we'll be faster if we run as wolves."

Kiba had an ulterior motive for becoming a wolf. While it was faster, it would also tell him how much work his little brother needed to keep up in a pack.

Haru was a little quicker in his transformation. Kiba got a good look at Haru's wolf form.

It was well built, with large paws. The coloring was a dark blue that could easily become black in the right lighting. The paws were a bit lean, but that could be remedied with enough food. The tail was a bit long for a wolf, but there wasn't anything wrong with that. The eyes were an emerald color with gold highlights. His muzzle was roughly the same size as his own.

But what bothered him was that his brother had his ribs showing. There was a clear bulge from breakfast.

Whoever that family was, they were dead the next time Kiba saw them. He would never forgive them for hurting his brother.

Kiba and Haru made good time towards Moony's little cottage. It was small, but comfortable.

* * *

The full moon was beginning to rise as they finally reached the house. Kiba eased the door opened and looked around. Moony was probably inside his gilded cage right now.

_Big brother? Where is Uncle Moony?_

_Downstairs probably. Moony was bitten by a creature we call the Lunar Wolf. Whenever the moon becomes full, he becomes like us. The only problem is that the transformation is quite painful._

Kiba stalked to the basement, where the silver cage was. Remus stared at them in surprise, but said nothing. His transformation was almost on him.

_We're here to help Moony. We'll help you control the wolf. There's no need to stay in a cage like a common dog._

Remus cautiously exited the cage. It was the first night he couldn't afford the Wolf's Bane potion. He had been worried what would happen if he couldn't close the door properly.

He did wonder who the smaller wolf was though.

The moonlight hit him, and his bones began to shift. Fur sprang out of his skin, and it hurt like hell. His teeth grew longer, his tail shot out. Claws grew and sharpened.

Moony howled. Kiba and Haru did the same, enjoying the moonlight.

Since Remus had gotten a place near the woods, they went out into the forest. Moony, Kiba and Haru all ran through the leaf laden trees, enjoying the night. Nearby a large rabbit bolted. Haru looked to Kiba, who gave a short bark.

Haru chased the rabbit, keeping his nose to the ground.

_There!_

He leaped, and before the rabbit could move Haru snapped it's neck. Close to where he was were four more rabbits.

He took down two but let the others escape. One was barely a baby, and the other was just old enough to take care of the little one.

Kiba watched all this amused. His little brother had taken to his wolf form very quickly. He could keep up better than most pups his age, despite being a human until recently.

Moony caught the scent of a large bird. It was one he was familiar with.

It was an owl.

The only reason his attention was drawn to it was because it had a letter tied to its claws.

Kiba lead them the through the forest, and Moony finally got some real exercise for a change. He knew an Alpha wolf when he saw one.

* * *

Haru stopped, as he had caught a scent. It was a familiar one, but not one he recognized. Another wolf had shown up. This one had silver bracelets around it's right front leg.

Haru barked once, and wagged his tail. The other wolf started walking towards them, careful not to show any aggression. Haru trotted towards him, but stopped when Kiba growled.

_Who are you?_

_My name's Toboe. This is the first time I've met another wolf._

_I'm Haru! Nice to meet you Toboe!_

_Why are you here?_

_I caught the scent of blood. I thought there was a deer or something nearby to eat._

_How good are you at hunting?_

_Not very good. I've lived with humans most of my life._

_Haru has lived with humans for eleven years, and he can still hunt rabbits._

_Can I join you?_

Haru whined. He wanted someone to play with in wolf form. Kiba sighed. He had a feeling that even if he said no, the puppy would still follow them. Wolves hated being without a pack. Even lone wolves like him got lonely.

_Fine. But if I were you, I would take lessons from Haru._

Toboe barked happily and went up to Haru.

* * *

The sun rose, and Moony went back into Remus. Tonight had been the most fun he had had in many years.

Once Remus was able to stand, they went inside.

Aside from fixing a massive amount of meat, it was a rather interesting breakfast. Toboe turned out to be a light browned haired boy with silver bracelets. He was also about Haru's age in human years.

The owl that they saw earlier came into the window. Remus carefully extracted the letter and stared.

"It's your Hogwarts letter. But why did you get one?"

Kiba grinned.

"Just because I retrieved him doesn't mean the adoption didn't go through. Spirit Wolves take the human characteristics from their adoptive parents for life. Even though James and Lily are gone, Haru is still considered their son. Besides, we can use human magic better than humans anyway."

"Which means he still needs a wand," sighed Remus.

Another owl flew into the window, and Remus saw another familiar letter.

"It appears that Toboe here will be going as well."

Sure enough, Toboe had gotten the same letter as Haru. Fortunately Remus knew where to get supplies.

* * *

Kiba officially hated Diagon Alley. It was noisy, it stank to high heaven, and people kept staring at his brother like he had a third eye.

Still, at least they wouldn't have to worry about money for a while. Kiba had forgotten how rich James was. Even though Haru was adopted into the Potter line, the goblins didn't care. Spirit adoption was just as good as blood.

It meant that should Haru have any children they would be classed as Potters anyway.

While they were getting the books, Kiba spotted several that caught his interest. So did Haru and Toboe.

They had to have Remus gone into the apothecary, as their noses cried out in pain if they went too close.

Next was the robes. Haru and Toboe went in, and ignored the cranky blond boy. While he put on a superior front, his scent labeled him as a coward, weak in both body and mind.

In short, he was prey.

Finally came the wands. Which lead to a bit of an argument between Kiba and Remus.

"Why is Ollivander's out of the question?" demanded Remus.

"One, he puts Ministry tracers on all of them. Two, the man is far to disturbing for Haru to be near, and is liable to get his throat ripped out. And three, it's tradition for Spirit Wolves to have their wands specifically made for them."

Remus could hardly argue against the tracers and the tradition.

So down they went into Knockturn Alley. Fortunately for the inhabitants, they could see Kiba and the others for what they really were and left them alone.

Once they had past most of the questionable businesses near the front of the alley, they came upon a small shop with wood and odd things in it.

It simply said _"Quint's Wands"._

They went in. The air was filled with the scent of woods and feathers. Once they reached the counter, the owner came out.

Quint was a grizzled old man with white hair and a cranky temper. Next to him was a young half-wolf he called Blue. Blue looked up at them, and yawned before going back to sleep.

Quint didn't like wolves, but he put aside his differences after the Ministry nearly sent him to Azkaban for hunting them. Apparently he hated the Ministry _more _than he hated wolves.

"We're here for wands," said Kiba calmly.

"How many?"

Remus looked at Kiba pointedly, and Kiba said "Three."

Remus dropped the look. He had a feeling Kiba never bothered to learn human magic, and he was right. Which meant he would have something to do while the boys were at Hogwarts.

Kiba went first.

His hand passed over holly with some success, but after a second pass it stayed down. Oak, aspen, willow, and yew all reacted, but a second pass proved it to be a false reaction. Then he passed over a rare wood called Moonbeam, and he got a better reaction. A second pass had the same result.

Next was the cores he had to pick _one_ core and add some of his fur to bind it to him.

He did the same thing with the cores. A few provided a false positive, such as a phoenix feather and unicorn hair. Then his hand went over a large piece of crystal the color of clear ice. His hand went past that and over a large white flower. He felt the surge of magic from his hand.

"That is the strongest reaction I have ever seen!" said Quint.

Kiba handed over a few strands of fur.

Quint went into the back and put the pieces in a box. Toboe was next.

His hand went over three different wood types before his magic rested on Entwood. His core was hair from a dryad.

Haru was last.

Haru's went over almost ever wood on the table before it rested on a wood that seemed to glow.

"Wood from the Yggdrasil tree. It was extremely hard to get that," said Quint without looking up.

His hand went over a phoenix feather and it glowed. But a second pass and it died. Next came the werewolf fur. Nothing. It kept going that way until he reached the crystal that had rejected his brother.

It glowed ice blue.

"Yggdrasil bark and Frostwind crystal. Odd combination of light and ice."

It would take three hours for their wands to be done. So Remus decided they could go to the pet shops.

Something that had Kiba laugh out loud.

"You do realize that cats absolutely despise us with every fiber of their being right?"

"Is that why every werewolf I've meet claims they're allergic?" asked Toboe.

Kiba snickered.

"Cats plus wolves equals trouble waiting to happen," said Remus.

"Which leaves only one pet that is still permitted. Off to the Owl Emporium."

Toboe found an adorable elf owl that seemed to fall in love with him. Haru on the other hand, found a snow owl that seemed to be debate whether to glare at him or not.

Kiba walked up and grinned.

"Found one?"

"I think so, but she doesn't seem very happy about being a pet."

The owl hooted. So Haru held out his hand, and it hopped along his arm.

"Can we get this one?"

"If she can keep up with the pack, then fine."

They returned for their wands, and they were all amazed with the results.

Each wand had a stylized wolf on the hilt. What the wolf was doing depended on who it was for. Kiba had a wolf that was running around the wand hilt. Toboe had one lying down. Haru's was howling at a moon.

Remus hid a grin at the wands.

* * *

Kiba groaned as he got up. He loathed mornings with a passion. Unfortunately he had to do this. Haru wanted him to join him on his first train ride.

So he would get up and take his brother and Toboe to the train. Thankfully Remus knew how to get on.

"So let me get this straight. We walk through the pillar?" said Kiba dubiously.

"Illusion. And yes."

Kiba took a deep breath and plunged right in.

He came out in the middle of a loud, whiny crowd. It was noisy, smelly and gave him a massive headache.

Remus brought the boys through, and gave them a few last minute tips to survive the year.

"Unless you end up in Slytherin, in general avoid them. Most are inbreed and cranky. Hufflepuff is loyal, but try not to bring up the fact they have the most muggleborns. Ravenclaws always have their heads in books, and Gryffindor is far too headstrong for their own good."

"How do you know that?" asked Toboe.

"I was a Gryffindor."

Haru and Toboe grinned. Thanks to their wolf strength, they had a better time putting their heavy trunks in the compartment.

Soon the train was on it's way, and Haru was grinning as he watched Kiba keep pace until the station left their sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Haru and Toboe were having fun. This was their first ever train ride. To add to that fun, they had plenty of things to sniff out. The train was full of interesting smells.

Once they had gone up and down the train at least twice, the two returned to their compartment. Inside were two new people. A girl with bushy brown hair who smelled of old tomes and a timid boy who reeked of plants and dirt.

"Sorry, we didn't know this compartment was already occupied," said the girl.

"That's alright. We were only exploring the train. You're welcome to stay," said Haru.

The two seemed relieved to have such a pleasant welcome.

"I'm Hermione Granger," said the girl.

"Neville Longbottom," said the boy.

"I'm Toboe and this is Haru."

It didn't take long for the four to become friends. Toboe and Neville discussed various plants while Haru and Hermione talked about books.

Everything was going great...until the door opened.

In the frame stood a gangly red head with freckles.

"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full," he claimed.

Haru knew that to be a lie. He and Toboe had passed at least three empty compartments.

"This is full too. There's an empty one five doors down though," Haru suggested.

The red head clearly didn't hear the warning in his tone, because he moved to enter the compartment anyway.

Haru stood in front of him, clearly annoyed.

"Look, this one is full. Why are you so dead set on joining us?" he asked.

"Because I heard the boy-who-lived was in here," said the red head.

"You have the wrong compartment then. Try the one three doors down," said Haru firmly.

The boy left angrily. Haru pitied whoever this boy-who-lived bloke was.

"What was his problem?" asked Hermione. She had seen the empty compartments as well, and the boy's attitude had rubbed her the wrong way.

"I have no idea. My guess is that he's one of those people who hang around famous people hoping the glory would rub off on them," shrugged Haru.

"Who is this boy-who-lived?" asked Toboe.

"He's the one who defeated the Dark Lord ten years back. They say he has a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, and that he lives with his muggle relatives," said Hermione promptly.

"Wait, if he defeated the Dark Lord, then who was stupid enough to paint a target on him like that? Wouldn't the followers come after him if they knew something as distinctive as a lightning scar?" said Haru incredulous.

Hermione opened and closed her mouth. She could find no fault in his logic. Who _had_ let that bit slip? It was as bad as painting a large bull's eye on the child's back saying 'here I am, come and kill me!'.

"I have no idea," admitted Hermione.

"Anyway, why would the boy even allow anyone to see the scar if he knew he was being targeted?" asked Haru.

That was when Neville noticed something on Haru's forehead that made him gape.

"You're Harry Potter!"

"No, I gave up that name a while back. There's a reason I prefer Haru to Harry," said Haru.

"What does Haru mean anyway?" asked Hermione.

"It's Japanese for 'Spring'."

"And Toboe?" asked Neville.

"Howl*."

* * *

Haru and Toboe followed the others to be sorted. They weren't impressed with the speech.

"Black, Haru!"

Haru walked up to the stool.

_**Not a bad mind, I must say. You would fit in any of the four houses. Which do you want to go to?**_

_Which one suits me best?_

_**For one of your kine, I would have great difficulty.**_

_Um...which one wouldn't hate me for what I am?_

_**In that case...**_

"Hufflepuff!"

Dead silence met this cry. A _Black _in Hufflepuff?

"Lupin, Toboe!"

Dumbledore looked at him closely. He wasn't aware that there was anyone left of the Lupin line. And this Toboe did resemble Remus after a fashion.

"Hufflepuff!"

Now he was interested. What was it about Black and Lupin that bothered him?

"I can't believe we both got into the same house Toboe!" said Haru with a grin.

Toboe laughed. He really liked having the energetic Haru as a pack brother. And Kiba was really nice to him too!

They picked their beds and crashed. The moon silently rose above the treetops.

* * *

Dumbledore looked into the family tree. Nowhere did it say that Lupin had a nephew. And under the Black family line there was an odd mark under Sirius's name. He had seen this before.

Wolf adoption. He scowled. This would not do. He couldn't have his golden boy turn out to be one of those wretched wolves.

He had never believed the tales of Redemption anyway.

* * *

Haru found an odd book that caught his attention. It was old, almost falling apart. When he went to check it out, the librarian told him he could have it for two galleons. He paid her and left.

_**Fabula Magica**_

_Legend of the Lupus Spiritus_

_Four hundred years ago, there was a prophecy passed down by a great Seer._

"**When the darkness of fate has twisted around a Childe of Light, the wolves shall rise.**

**Following the path of the Luna Flora, they shall redeem those who have strayed from the path of true magic.**

**This time of redemption will not be heralded by all, for those who guide the sheep will seek to quell the illuminating path.**

**If the path of Light is hidden, all hope for Magic shall be lost."**

"Eh? I wonder what those weird words mean. I bet Remus knows!"

_Dear Remus and Kiba,_

_I found this weird book in the library that the librarian let me keep. It had some words I didn't understand. Do you think you could find out? Here is a list of the words I found..."_

Haru tied the scroll to Tsuki, who flew off. She did not stray from her path, even when a red light almost hit her.

Haru scowled, and saw a familiar old geezer. It was the headmaster!

Dumbledore, as if sensing his gaze, turn to the Hufflepuff tower. Haru had gone inside the second he realized what the old man had tried.

* * *

Remus stared at the letter.

Tsuki rested on her perch from the rather narrow escape from the school.

Haru had discovered a prophecy none of them had known about. One that involved _all_ wolves. Particularly the Spirit Wolves like Kiba.

Kiba took a look at it, and realized that it was part of a much bigger tale than Remus had realized.

"Remus, you know about the Lunar flower, right?"

"A flower so rare that it's almost extinct? What about it?"

"You know about our legend, about the power of that particular flower?"

Remus realized what he was getting at.

"You mean these are connected?"

Kiba nodded.

"How will we find that flower? Any potionsmaster worth his salt has tried to find them, but none have ever succeeded."

"One _did_ succeed, but he was wise enough to hide it's location."

"Who?"

Kiba looked at him like Remus already knew that answer. His eyes widened.

"Snape?"

"If I'm right, Haru and Toboe will come across the one he hid sooner rather than later. I better start writing him a letter about this new problem."

For reasons he never told Remus, Kiba had gotten along with Snape rather well.

It was mostly because Kiba tended to be a loner, just like Snape was. Plus whenever he came for healing potions he always paid with extremely rare potions ingredients. It was a working arrangement.

* * *

Snape read the essay with disdain. While he hated James Potter with every fiber of his being for the stunts he used to pull on him, the sad fact was that Harry wasn't his biological son. Add to the fact that Kiba was his brother, and Snape really didn't have any reason to hate the boy.

Snape liked Kiba. The boy was sensible and knew how to pay properly for his help. Plus it was thanks to Kiba that he had found that patch of Lunar Flowers in the Forbidden Forest and had been able to hide them.

He had no idea that Unicorns tended to guard the flowers by attacking anyone who came near them without a wolf accompanying them with their horns.

Kiba had explained to him about how long ago, before the Spirit Wolves had been forced into hiding, they had met with a large herd of unicorns and asked them to protect the precious flowers from the humans. Because of the pure nature of the flowers, the unicorns had agreed, and word had spread to the other herds.

Just to make sure he didn't end up gutted by the horn of a normally docile creature, Kiba had marked him lightly on the ankle. Which meant he could harvest a few petals every full moon without worrying about the unicorns attacking him.

Haru had done a rather well written and informed essay on the effects of moon rocks. He had even included a few notes on the effects of using moon rocks that were smashed, rather than crushed.

So Snape had given the boy a rare 'O' worthy paper. Very few people were on his good side after all.

Hermione walked up to Haru and Toboe with irritation on her face.

"I don't know _how_ you do it! Why do you keep getting 'O' when I can barely scrape an Acceptable?" she complained.

"Because I do more than the required work? 'Mione, every time I do the research, I also look up the effects of alternate methods of preparing the ingredient and add that," said Haru.

Clearly that idea had never occurred to her.

"Besides, you should have listen to the older students when they said Snape was very biased against Gryffindor students. If you like, we can help you with your potions homework if you help us with charms."

"What about Herbology?"

Toboe shook his head. In exchange for keeping the more unpleasant Slytherins and Gryffindors off his back, Neville had been helping them with their herbology homework.

Neville, while lacking in Potions and Charms, was a natural Green Mage.

Hermione was clearly torn, but when she looked at her Potions paper, she made up her mind.

"Where and when?"

Haru and Toboe grinned.

"We do a group study in the library every Sunday, and we all work on our homework on Saturday. Mostly it's to proofread the other's work."

And just like that, their group grew by one. The next time she turned in a potions paper, she was relieve to see the 'A' had jumped overnight to an 'EE'. It would have been an 'O', but like Haru had pointed out, it was a miracle he even gave her an Exceeds Expectations since she was a Gryffindor.

Ever so slowly, the days crept by.

* * *

In the staff room and the common rooms of the students, there were rumors of wolves in the Forbidden Forest. The Gryffindor Terror Twins, Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to catch a glimpse of the wolves, or better yet a picture.

They had no idea that Toboe and Haru had marked their scent so that they could avoid them. Though they had great fun scaring the pants off them under the full moon.

Eventually though, the two decided that it wouldn't hurt to have allies in the Upper years.

So they allowed the twins to catch a photo of them playing under the moonlight near the Black Lake. Fred and George rather liked the photo, because watching the two play was rather amusing.

Mostly because while Toboe was used to being a wolf, Haru always managed to pin him within five minutes. In exchange for the experience of fighting other wolves, Haru helped show Toboe how to hunt for himself.

Toboe was a bit soft, but he quickly toughened up enough to catch and kill rabbits.

Though it did lead to a few first years losing their lunch whenever they accidentally ran into what was left of the poor rabbit. The Upperclassmen were always very quick to vanish what was left of the animal.

And without warning, the day of their first flying lessons came to them. Neville was understandably nervous, even though because of his friendship with Haru and Toboe, he had started to gain a bit more backbone.

Haru was grinning, since his brother had explained a few things even Toboe hadn't picked up on about their kind.

Each Spirit Wolf had a natural attribute that would drive what their magic leaned towards. For Kiba it was water and moonlight. Toboe was a natural Earth and wood type wolf.

Haru, on the other hand... he was one of those rare wolves with two elements and a focus type. He could control Ice, which meant he had a lesser power over water and wind. And the focus that he used to strengthen his control over his magic was darkness.

* * *

Haru and Toboe mounted their brooms, though only Toboe actually felt at ease on the thin sticks of wood. Without warning, Neville kicked off. He had been a bundle of nerves the entire morning, so Haru had actually anticipated such a reaction.

He kicked off, hard, and flew up to Neville. He neatly caught the boy's robes before he fell to the ground. Once he was on the ground, Madam Hooch got onto both of them.

Particularly Haru, because it was hard enough to fly a broom for the first time, let alone catch someone from falling. Still, it did do some good.

Haru earned fifteen points for catching his classmate before he hurt himself.

* * *

"Hey Neville, have you seen Hermione today?" asked Haru.

It was the Halloween feast, and Haru hadn't seen the girl all day. Which worried him more than he liked.

"I heard from Padma Patil that she was in the girl's bathroom. Said she'd been in there all afternoon, crying her eyes out from something Ron Weasly had said to her," said one of their Irish classmates.

"What on earth could he had said to upset her so much?" asked Toboe.

"I think he mentioned that she had no friends because she was such a know-it-all," shrugged Justin.

Haru didn't like that one bit.

"We need to go get her. Would anyone mind if a Lion joined our table for the feast?" asked Haru.

Everyone shook their heads. Hufflepuff was all about loyalty, especially to one's friends. Haru was clearly showing his Hufflepuff nature by bringing the girl where she would be welcomed.

"Toboe, I'll go get Hermione."

"Okay."

Haru left the feast, and five minutes later returned with a rather surprised Hermione Granger. No one commented on the fact that the girl had been unanimously welcomed to the Hufflepuff table, when it was an unspoken rule for people to sit at their house table during the feasts.

Not ten minutes after returning to the great hall, the DADA came running in, screaming his head off about a troll in the dungeons. After the initial panic had been dissipated, no one realized that Hermione Granger was missing from her house until an hour after the teachers had gotten rid of the beast.

McGonagall had been less than happy that because of Ron, Hermione had been in danger. If Haru hadn't left the feast early and retrieved her, she would have come face to face with the troll.

It had gone into the same bathroom Haru had found her in.

Needless to say Ron got a rather harsh detention with Filch, who was more than happy to set the boy cleaning every armor in the castle without magic.

* * *

Haru was not looking forward to the Quidditch match. While Hermione had started to hang out with them more (mostly because Haru had inadvertently rescued her from a troll) the sheer noise level and the overwhelming smell of humans in a feverish state were rather unpleasant to the wolves.

Their only consolation was the fact that Hermione had found both the bubble head charm and the silencing charm after hearing the two boys complain about the headaches. Which meant they wouldn't be deafened by the noise level alone.

About halfway into the game, Haru realized something was wrong with some of the brooms. They kept coming a little too close to the stands where he happened to be.

So he dragged Toboe and Hermione to a different part of the stands.

Only to have the players nearly crash into them, again.

"Alright, something is going on here. They keep coming towards our part of the stands instead of avoiding them," complained Haru.

Hermione would have disputed that, if she hadn't noticed it herself.

"I don't think anyone would notice if we left," said Toboe.

"How about we go and hit the library. I would love to get away from this noise."

Hermione wasn't that thrilled with the match either, and had mostly been blackmailed into coming.

They promptly left before another broom nearly crashed into their stand.

(Later they found out that someone had jinxed the brooms to target Haru, and finally quit acting up when he left.)

* * *

**(*This is actually true. I looked up the names of the wolves in _Wolf's Rain_ and discovered that they were all _WOLF _related.)**


End file.
